Flaherty Says Passage of Intact Canada Budget Will Lead to Fiscal Balance
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said legislation implementing his March budget, which passed the Senate intact last night, will allow the government to exit stimulus spending and restore budget balance.
“We have an exit strategy and a plan to return to budget balance over the medium term by restraining the growth of program spending,” Flaherty said in a statement today.
The Senate Committee on National Finance last week proposed changes to the government’s budget legislation, taking out measures including those relating to government-owned Canada Post and Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Late last night, the Senate voted 48 to 44 to defeat the changes, and passed the original legislation. The bill also received royal assent and has now completed the legislative process.
Had the Conservatives failed to win the vote, the amended legislation could have been sent back to the House of Commons for a new vote. The Conservative government lacks a majority of Commons seats and budget bills are confidence matters, meaning that a defeat in the Commons would have led to an election.
In the Senate, the governing Conservatives have 52 seats compared with 49 for the Liberals. There are two Progressive Conservatives and two unaffiliated Senators.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alexandre Deslongchamps in Ottawa at adeslongcham@bloomberg.net.
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